Costa Rica: space alien volcano umbrella plants

I'm in Guatemala right now, not Costa Rica. But an internet pal of mine calls CR home, and shot this photo yesterday of Volcano Irazu's crater with a patch of Sombrillas de Pobre (Poor Man's Umbrella) nearby. If I didn't know better, I'd think he lived on another planet.

About that space alien plant, "They are a giant leaf with a perfect stem," él nos explique, "It wards off rain wonderfully, but you can't pick them in the park, of course."

Here in Guatemala, I'm tucked away under heavy wool blankets in a village between two volcanoes: one spews fire, the other water. The wind outside is noisy and forceful tonight. Electricity and internet keep going on and off and on and off again. I can read and fumble around the room by candlelight, but the veladoras won't help me send emails. It's really cold out there, and I'm grateful to be safely inside.